New Delhi: Amid the row over Prajwal Revanna's 'obscene video' case, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly asserted that there should be "zero tolerance" against such people and "stringent punishment" should be given to them using all available legal options.
He, also attacked the Congress party over the issue, stating that these thousands of videos are not of one day. He accused Congress of allowing Prajwal to flee the state and videos were released only after he left the country. Prajwal Revanna, the suspended Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader is the incumbent MP from the Hassan constituency. He is seeking re-election as an NDA candidate from the same seat.
Polling on the seat was completed on April 26. In an interview with Times Now, PM Modi said, "I am of the clear view that there should be zero tolerance against such people. Stringent punishment should be given using all the legal options available."
Prime Minister Modi further stated that it is a law and order issue and whichever party is in government in the state, is responsible for taking action. "It is a law-and-order issue. If such an incident took place in Bengal, then the Bengal government would be responsible. If it happened in Gujarat, then the Gujarat government is responsible. If it happened, then Andhra then Andhra government would be responsible. If it happened in Karnataka, then the Karnataka government is responsible for taking action," he further said.
Prime Minister Modi alleged that the videos were recorded when Congress was in power in the state in alliance with JD(S) and were released only after the Vokkaliga voters exercised their franchise during the second phase. "However, these thousands of videos would not be of single day which implies that it is of the time when JD(S) was in alliance with Congress. These videos were gathered when they were in power. They released it during the election after Vokkaligas exercised their franchise," the Prime Minister said.
"The videos were released after he was sent out of the country. You allowed him to go from the state. This is very suspicious," he added. HD Revanna and his son, Prajwal Revanna are facing a probe by a Special Investigative Team (SIT), constituted by the Karnataka government, over allegations of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation following a complaint by a woman who worked in their household.
HD Revanna is under Special Investigation Team (SIT) custody till May 8 in a kidnapping case linked to "obscene video case", while Prajwal Revanna has fled to another country. Voting for 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka is being held in two phases. While 14 seats were polled on April 26, the remaining 14 will go to polling on May 7. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP almost swept the state by winning 25 out of 28 seats. While, Congress and JD-S -- who were in coalition in the state government -- could only win one seat each.
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